1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an information processing method, an information processing apparatus, an information printing process apparatus, and an information reproducing process apparatus. More specifically, the present invention is directed to such an information processing method/apparatus that after various types of information, for instance, document identifiers, explanatory descriptions related to documents, voice information, image information, and moving picture information, which have been registered in filing apparatuses, are printed on a medium such as paper in the mechanically recognizable forms, the printed information is read by using a compact reading apparatus, and then the relevant information is recognized from this read information to be reproduced in an optimized form with respect to this read information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various printing systems have been proposed. For instance, when a document file is printed on a printing medium such as paper, various types of information (explanatory description, voice, image, moving picture, etc.) related to a certain portion of this document file is printed in an embedding manner with respect to the data of the document file. Thereafter, this printed medium is read-scanned to recognize the information which has been embedding-printed on the printed medium. Thus, the document file data printed together with the various types of information is retrieved, and also the explanatory descriptions are reproduced. As a typical conventional system, the following systems have been proposed:
(1) Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 7-262216
This image information processing apparatus is such a filing apparatus that while a document on which the bar code has been printed is scanned, this scanned document image is displayed on a CRT. Also, since the bar code area within this displayed document image is designated by using a mouse or the like, this designated bar code area is judged as the bar code portion to decode/recognize the bar code. The decoded/recognized bar code is used as the document retrieve information.
(2) Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 8-87562
This information storage apparatus is operated as follows. When the information is described on paper by using the bar code or the like, both the information to be recorded and the converting format information are inputted. This converting format information is to designate such a format used when this information is converted into the bar code. When the inputted converting format information is not correct, the decoding operation of the bar code is stopped.
(3) Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 8-185533
This voice information processing apparatus is operated as follows. While establishing the correspondence relationship between the supplementary explanation information by way of voice and images as to the partial region within the document, and the region information indicative of the partial region of the main subject related to the supplementary explanation information, the supplementary explanation information and the region information are described within this document by employing either the bar code or the high-density two-dimensional bar code. When the supplementary explanation information and the region information are scanned/recognized, the partial region where the supplementary explanation information within this document is present is expressed in such a manner that there is such a supplementary explanation. When the partial region is selected, the explanatory information such as the voice and the image related to the partial region is reproduced. As the related art, the following patent publications are known: Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 8-254987, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 8-255258, and Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 8-314486.
(4) Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 4-111140
In this multimedia document filing apparatus, the voice, the image, and the moving picture are coded. Then, the coded data are embedded into the document. Furthermore, when the coded data are embedded, the voice mark, the image mark, and the moving picture mark are printed together with the embedding data with maintaining a preselected positional relationship. Also, such mark data own the positional information of the data to be embedded. Such a document is scanned so as to detect the voice mark, the image mark, and the moving picture mark. Then, the positions of the embedded data can be specified from these detected marks to be decoded.
In the image information processing apparatus described in item (1) among the above-described conventional apparatuses, all areas of the document must be scanned so as to recognize the bar code area within the document to extract the retrieve information. The lengthy scanning time is required. Moreover, in order to recognize the bar code, the user himself is required to designate where the bar code is located within the image of the document. Therefore, the display/designation devices are required and further the designation time is needed.
Also, in the information storage apparatus described in item (2), the converting format information of the bar code is employed so as to secure the security of the information described in the bar code. However, a certain sort of information storage apparatus does not require such security, depending upon contents of information. Therefore, since the information storage apparatus always requires to enter the converting format information, the unnecessary entering works are needed and also this information storage apparatus owns less flexibility as to the requirement of security aspect. Moreover, in such a case that a plurality of pieces of information are described in a single bar code area, since the converting format information directly gives influences to the decoding process of the bar code, plural sorts of security cannot be applied, but only single security is allowed.
Also, in the voice information processing apparatus described in item (3), the supplementary explanation information of the partial region in the main subject, the region information for indicating that this supplementary explanation information corresponds to which part of the main subject, and further the relative information between the supplementary explanation information and the region information are separately described. Under such a circumstance, when a plurality of supplementary explanations are set within a single document, the user must designate which supplementary explanation should be referred among the plural supplementary explanations. To this end, the designation means is separately required as well as the image input apparatus.
In particular, in the embodiment of this conventional voice information processing apparatus, the entire document is scanned to input the overall image, and the information such as the bar code is recognized to extract the supplementary explanatory information and also the relative information between the supplementary explanatory information and the region information thereof. Then, based on the extracted information, for instance, a certain portion of the supplementary explanation is expressed by a specific mark on the document image displayed on the CRT. Then, this specific mark is checked so as to refer to the supplementary explanation. As a consequence, the user is necessarily required to refer to the paper document held on his hand, even on the CRT screen, resulting in very cumbersome works. In addition, this voice information processing apparatus additionally requires the CRT, the mark representing means for the supplementary explanation portion on the CRT, and the checking means for checking the mark-represented portion. Moreover, since the relative information is used to set which part of the main subject contains the supplementary explanation in the voice information processing apparatus, the user cannot grasp that which part contains the supplementary explanation until the main subject has been scanned.
Furthermore, in the multimedia document filing apparatus described in item (4), the mark is employed in order to discriminate the voice, the image, and the moving picture. There is no freedom degree in the marking position of this mark. For example, this mark cannot be marked on such a portion within the document where the supplementary explanation is desirably made. Furthermore, since the description position of the embedding information is specified by this mark, if this mark cannot be recognized properly due to adverse influence of noise, then the embedded data cannot be also reproduced.
As previously described, these conventional apparatuses own the following problems. The embedding information reproducing process cannot be commenced before the overall document has been scanned. Even when the embedding information reproducing process is commenced, the user must select the embedding information to be reproduced by employing the specific designating means. Therefore, unless the user can previously grasp the content and the sort of the embedding information, these apparatuses cannot be smoothly operated.
Also, in the conventional apparatus, the position of the embedding information and the need of the security cannot be changed, if required. Thus, the conventional apparatus cannot be smoothly operated, depending upon the user's requirement.
Furthermore, in the conventional apparatus, the original information embedded/printed in the document, namely the embedding information is expressed by using the specific ink and the magnetic materials. Therefore, this embedding information cannot be processed by employing the normal image input apparatus and the normal image output apparatus.